Edmund S. Phelps, (born 1933, Evanston, Ill., U.S.) American economist, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Economics for his analysis of intertemporal trade-offs in macroeconomic policy, especially with regard to inflation, wages, and unemployment.

In the late 1960s Phelps began his prizewinning work, which challenged a long-held assumption that high levels of unemployment corresponded with low levels of inflation, and vice versa. Policy makers had assumed that expansionary fiscal and monetary policies (policies that expanded demand) could contain unemployment levels. While this policy approach can influence short-term fluctuations in employment, it does not affect the long-term employment rate. Phelps observed that price- and wage-setting behaviour is based on expectations of future conditions. He demonstrated that workers will demand higher wages when costs of living (and therefore inflation) exceed their expectations. He further proved that inflation will be contained only after employment levels reach an equilibrium point. In fact, Phelps showed that unemployment is a natural part of a balanced economy: equilibrium is achieved when the economy reaches its natural rate of unemployment.

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study of the behaviour of a national or regional economy as a whole. It is concerned with understanding economy-wide events such as the total amount of goods and services produced, the level of unemployment, and the general behaviour of prices.

the condition of one who is capable of working, actively seeking work, but unable to find any work. It is important to note that to be considered unemployed a person must be an active member of the labour force and in search of remunerative work.